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Post by pacinoyes on Dec 2, 2019 12:50:09 GMT
This is one of those clear competitive actor things like Brando/Clift and Hanks/Washington - these guys were 1 and 2 in the GOAT ever poll in the old IMDB days and still ranked very highly recently too - 9 and 10 - on the latest one (Newman always in the lead by one spot). They emerged at roughly the same time were the same age too - Newman is the 2nd most Oscar nominated American actor ever along with Spencer Tracy at 9 and 1 win, but Lemmon has 8 nominations and won 2 BA. Lemmon was great at comedy and drama (the best at it?), and Newman along with Jack Nicholson the most clear example of a "great star/actor combination". Both of these guys have a pretty tight filmography working in big films for big directors without much in the way of low points either.
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Post by jimmalone on Dec 2, 2019 13:12:40 GMT
I love Jack Lemmon. The guy might be the most equally great actor ever in doing drama and comedy on an astonishing level.
But Paul Newman in my eyes is just the greatest actor ever (slighly ahead of Al Pacino). When he was on his best, to me he had an emotional range and a natural ability of making you just believe he IS that character, that is second to none.
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Post by TerryMontana on Dec 2, 2019 13:16:41 GMT
I love Lemmon, he was a great actor, both in drama and comedy.
But Newman was always at a higher level.
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urbanpatrician
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Post by urbanpatrician on Dec 2, 2019 13:30:40 GMT
Newman is closer to the Julie Harris (Happy Birthday) type of actor.... part of the American school rebirth.
Lemmon.... is a good comedian but he'd be pretty generic if he were doing movies now. He's good at what he does definitely but you can pluck him in and out of eras, so I don't see him as distinct enough like Bogart or Clint and is not a top actor like Pacino or Olivier.
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Post by HELENA MARIA on Dec 2, 2019 13:40:08 GMT
Lemmon was an absolutely gifted actor no doubt but I highly he ever reached Newman 's level of greatness.
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Post by TheAlwaysClassy on Dec 2, 2019 15:31:42 GMT
I'm clearly in the minority here, but I've always felt Lemmon was the greater overall talant as well as having the stronger filmography. Newman's great too though.
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Post by stephen on Dec 2, 2019 16:42:49 GMT
Both were legendary, but Jack Lemmon stakes a very strong claim of being the best American film actor in terms of versatility, consistency, and quality.
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Post by wallsofjericho on Dec 2, 2019 18:13:53 GMT
Love both but I'm going with Lemmon. Rewatched his amazing Glengarry Glen Ross performance again yesterday.
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Post by JangoB on Dec 2, 2019 18:50:04 GMT
Newman for me. I like Lemmon, especially in parts where he combined humor and dramatic pathos, but when he goes full drama I tend to feel that he can go a bit overboard.
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Post by pacinoyes on Dec 3, 2019 0:08:10 GMT
Both were legendary, but Jack Lemmon stakes a very strong claim of being the best American film actor in terms of versatility, consistency, and quality. I didn't vote in my own poll (because that would be stupid) but I do have to say Lemmon I hold in a unique position - he was a great film/TV star and even though he went back to the stage only a few times he did it with great success twice - I do think he's a GOAT American contender even outside of film and in the broader sense - you can build a case for him across all 3 mediums. Newman didn't have it as much in that way away from film..... The other thing about these guys is they are distinctly and specifically American too........in their roles there's a larger American vision present......
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